Blaenavon

2025-09-14T20:48:43Z

87.114.31.163:

{{for|the band|Blaenavon (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = Wales
| welsh_name = Blaenafon
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Torfaen (Assembly constituency)|Torfaen]]
| lieutenancy_wales = [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]
| coordinates = {{coord|51.77363|-3.08278|display=inline,title}}
| map_alt = Blaenavon is in the north of the district of Torfaen, in south east Wales
| official_name = Blaenavon
| static_image_name = Blaenavon Workmen's Hall and War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1855042.jpg
| static_image_caption = Blaenavon War Memorial and Workmen's Hall
| static_image_alt =
| unitary_wales = [[Torfaen]]
| community_wales = Blaenavon
| constituency_westminster = [[Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency)|Torfaen]]
| post_town = [[NP postcode area|PONTYPOOL]]
| postcode_district = NP4
| postcode_area = NP
| dial_code = 01495
| os_grid_reference = SO 255 095
| area_total_km2 = 17.83
| area_footnotes =<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11120820&c=blaenavon&d=16&e=61&g=6496299&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1385738913152&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2491
| title = 2011 Census:Quick Statistics:Population Density for Blaenavon
| publisher = Office for National Statistics
| access-date = 29 November 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203025030/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11120820&c=blaenavon&d=16&e=61&g=6496299&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1385738913152&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2491
| archive-date = 3 December 2013
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
| population = 6,055
| population_ref = (2011)<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120820&c=blaenavon&d=16&e=62&g=6496299&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1385403632472&enc=1
| title = 2011 Census:Key Statistics:Key Figures for Blaenavon
| publisher = Office for National Statistics
| access-date = 25 November 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234518/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120820&c=blaenavon&d=16&e=62&g=6496299&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1385403632472&enc=1
| archive-date = 2 December 2013
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
| statistic = W04000760
| statistic_title = [[GSS coding system|GSS code]]
| module= [[File:Wales Torfaen Community Blaenavon map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
'''Blaenavon''' ({{langx|cy|Blaenafon}}) is a town and [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Torfaen]] county borough, [[Wales]], high on a hillside on the source of the [[Afon Lwyd]]. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] and the [[Preserved counties of Wales|preserved county]] of [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]. The population is 6,055.

Parts of the town and surrounding country form the [[Blaenavon Industrial Landscape]], selected as a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] in [[2000]].

== History ==
[[File:Blaenavon St Peters Church-20-Oct-2013.JPG|thumb|left|The Church in Wales church of St Peter]]
[[File:St Paul's Church, Blaenavon - geograph.org.uk - 2135913.jpg|thumb|left|The Church in Wales church of St Paul]]
[[File:Blaenavon Library - geograph.org.uk - 2136514.jpg|thumb|left|The Former [[Municipal Offices, Blaenavon|Municipal Offices]] in Lion Street]]
[[File:Big Pit Mining Museum.jpg|thumb|Big Pit National Coal Museum]]
[[File:Rail_Blaenavon_Steel_1886.jpg|thumb|Rail manufactured in Blaenavon, seen in Sweden]]
[[File:Horeb Baptist Church - geograph.org.uk - 471190.jpg|thumb|Horeb [[Baptist Union of Wales|Baptist church]]]]

''Blaenavon'' literally means "head of the river" or loosely "river's source" in the [[Welsh language]]. Blaenavon grew around an [[ironworks]] opened in 1788 by the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] industrialist [[Thomas Hill of Dennis|Thomas Hill]] and his partners, Thomas Hopkins and Benjamin Pratt. The businessmen invested £40,000 into the ironworks project and erected three blast furnaces. Hopkins, as a result of operating the Cannock Wood Forge, Staffordshire, was in contact with skilled and experienced ironworkers, and managed to persuade many of them to migrate to Blaenavon to help establish the new ironworks. In 1836 [[Robert Kennard|Robert William Kennard]] formed the Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company, which subsequently bought the Blaenavon Ironworks.

Blaenavon House, a mansion constructed in 1798 by Thomas Hopkins, was repurposed as a hospital in 1924, supported by the subscriptions of local iron and coal workers. In the 1940s the hospital site was given by the then owners of the site, the [[National Coal Board]], to the UK [[Ministry of Health (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Health]]; it was run as a [[cottage hospital]] until 1985. When the hospital closed the building was sold by the local authority and refurbished as a nursing home for the elderly. In 1995 the building was listed as a Grade 2 [[listed building]]. Following the closure of the nursing home in 2007, the building was left empty. It was badly vandalised and stripped of its lead work, slate roof and original interiors, and was placed on the Buildings at Risk register. In 2016 a fire caused severe damage to the ballroom wing and adjoining extension. The House was sold in 2017 to private owners and is currently undergoing restoration as a family home once again.

The [[Municipal Offices, Blaenavon|Municipal Offices]] in Lion Street were the home of Blaenavon Urban District Council until local government reorganisation in 1974.<ref>{{NHAW|num=15278|desc=Council Offices (Municipal Offices)|access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref>

== Governance ==
Blaenavon is a [[Community (Wales)|community]] represented by Blaenavon Town Council and is an [[electoral division|electoral ward]] of [[Torfaen County Borough Council]]. Blaenavon is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Coutras]] in France.<ref>{{cite web|title=Town Twinning|url=http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/LeisureParksEvents/TourismTravel/Towntwinning/Town-Twinning.aspx|publisher=[[Torfaen County Borough Council]]|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref>

== Geography ==
The town lies near the source of the [[Afon Lwyd]] river, north of [[Cwmbran]].

== Demography ==
The population of Blaenavon has declined gradually at each ten-year census since the closure of the [[ironworks]] in 1900. It had fallen to 8,451 by 1961 and fell more rapidly after closure of the coal mine in 1980. Part of this decline was not emigration but a decrease in birth rate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10045757/cube/TOT_POP|title=Blaenavon|publisher=Vision of Britain}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{further|Blaenavon Ironworks}}
The Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company developed the Big Pit coalworks with adjoining steel works particularly for rail manufacture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/271941|title=Geograph:: Blaenavon Ironworks Site © Cedwyn Davies|website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref> The steel-making and coal mining industries followed, boosting the town's population to over 20,000 at one time before 1890.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/470291|title=Geograph:: Workman's Hall, Blaenavon © Carol Rose|website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref> Since 1988, part of this site has been the [[Big Pit National Coal Museum]].<ref name="underground">{{cite news |author=McCrum, Kirstie |date=7 September 2013 |title=Going Underground; Big Pit: National Coal Museum Is Celebrating Its 30th Anniversary as a Tourist Attraction and Museum |publisher=Western Mail |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-342132737/going-underground-big-pit-national-coal-museum-is |url-status=dead |url-access= |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808102435/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-342132737/going-underground-big-pit-national-coal-museum-is |archive-date=8 August 2016 |via=}}</ref>

== Culture and community ==
Government, publishers and mainly Welsh writers sought in 2003 to attract more visitors by introducing Blaenavon as Wales' second "[[book town]]" (the first being [[Hay-on-Wye]] on the English border). However, the project did not succeed.<ref>[http://www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide/shops/wales/blaenafon_booktown_fails.php the Book Guide: ''Blaenafon – The Booktown Experiment Fails'', 17 March 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023140012/http://www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide/shops/wales/blaenafon_booktown_fails.php |date=23 October 2012 }}. Accessed 2 November 2012</ref> This can be attributed to a combination of the town's remote location and the established competition from Hay. Many thriving community groups serve and improve the town, including Future Blaenavon, which has helped to create a community garden at the bottom of the town.

== Landmarks ==
Parts of the town and surrounding country form the [[Blaenavon Industrial Landscape]], selected as a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] in 2000. Attractions in the town include the [[Big Pit National Coal Museum]] (an Anchor Point of the [[European Route of Industrial Heritage]]), [[Blaenavon Ironworks]],<ref>[http://www.world-heritage-blaenavon.org.uk/whs-info/nomination/iron/ironworks.htm Blaenavon Ironworks]</ref> the [[Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway]] and Blaenavon World Heritage Centre. The town has a male voice choir, a town band, and many historical walks through the local mountains.

== Transport ==
A railway viaduct was constructed in 1790; the structure disappeared and was unearthed in a 2001 episode of the archaeology television programme ''[[Time Team]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Morpeth |first=Mel |title=Blaenavon, South Wales |date=4 February 2001 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0957380/ |series=Time Team |access-date=31 December 2022}}</ref> The [[Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway]] is a scenic attraction rich in geological and historical interest. Blaenavon lost both of its passenger railway stations — [[Blaenavon High Level railway station|Blaenavon High Level]] station closed in 1941, and the last train from Blaenavon (Low Level) (to [[Newport railway station|Newport]] via [[Pontypool Crane Street railway station|Pontypool Crane Street]]) ran in April 1962. The lower line had already been closed for more than a year before the [[Beeching Axe]] took place. The lower line's passenger service was among many in Gwent (Monmouthshire) which [[Ministry of Transport (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Transport]] de-classified papers reveal were axed because of rail congestion in the Newport area following the newly opened [[Llanwern steelworks]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

== Education ==

* Blaenavon Heritage VC Primary School & Nursery
*Busy Bees Nursery Following Samuel Hopkins' death in 1815, his sister Sarah Hopkins of Rugeley, who had inherited much money from her late brother, erected Blaenavon Endowed School in his memory. Which has since been permanently closed. {{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

{{See also|List of schools in Torfaen}}

== Religious sites ==
St Peter's Church was constructed in 1804, gifted to the parish by Thomas Hill and Samuel Hopkins.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

== Sport ==

* Forgeside RFC
* Forgeside AFC
* [[Blaenavon RFC]]
* [[Blaenavon Blues AFC]]
* Blaenavon Bowls Club Blaenavon Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1906. The club closed in 1937.<ref>[http://www.golfsmissinglinks.co.uk/index.php/wales-64/303-blaenavon-golf-club-forge-side-torfaen "Blaenavon Golf Club"], "Golf’s Missing Links".</ref>

== Notable people ==
{{see also|Category:People from Blaenavon}}

Notable people born in Blaenavon include the Broadway and film actor [[E. E. Clive]], award-winning mystery writer [[Dorothy Simpson]], and international rugby union players [[Mark Taylor (rugby union, born 1973)|Mark Taylor]], [[Ken Jones (rugby union, born 1921)|Ken Jones]] (also an Olympic athlete), [[John Perkins (rugby union)|John Perkins]], Chris Huish, [[Terry Cobner]] and [[Colin Evans (rugby)|Colin Evans]].

[[Nick Thomas-Symonds]], elected MP for Torfaen in 2015, was brought up in the town.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Wales}}
*[[Mining in Wales]]
*[[List of Communities of Torfaen|Communities of Torfaen]]
*[[Grade I listed buildings in Torfaen]]
*[[Grade II* listed buildings in Torfaen]]
*[[List of Scheduled Monuments in Torfaen|Scheduled Monuments in Torfaen]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Blaenavon}}
*[http://www.francisfrith.com/search/wales/gwent/blaenavon/photos/blaenavon_photos.htm Old photos of Blaenavon]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/ Welsh Coal Mines – all the pits, all the histories]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051025060529/http://www.blaenavon.gov.uk/ Blaenavon Town Council]
*[http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/2001ba.html Time Team – The Lost Viaduct]
*[http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/6476 Aerial photograph of Blaenavon in 1999]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://sites.google.com/site/blaenavonlhs/ Blaenavon Local History Society website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825102247/http://sites.google.com/site/blaenavonlhs/ |date=25 August 2014 }}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Blaenavon|volume=4}}

{{Geographic location
|title = '''[[Community (Wales)|Communities]] near Blaenavon'''
|Centre = Blaenavon
|North = [[Llanfoist]] ([[Monmouthshire County Council|Monmouthshire]])
|Northeast = [[Llanfoist]] ([[Monmouthshire County Council|Monmouthshire]])
|East = [[Llanover]] ([[Monmouthshire County Council|Monmouthshire]])
|Southeast = [[Abersychan]]
|South = [[Abersychan]]
|Southwest = [[Abertillery]] ([[Caerphilly County Borough|Caerphilly]])
|West = [[Nantyglo]] and [[Blaina]] ([[Caerphilly County Borough|Caerphilly]])
|Northwest = [[Llanelly]] ([[Monmouthshire County Council|Monmouthshire]])}}

{{World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom}}
{{Torfaen}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Blaenavon| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Torfaen]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Wales]]
[[Category:Communities in Torfaen]]
[[Category:Electoral wards of Torfaen]]
[[Category:Book towns]]

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Blaenavon